Ground broken for new Iowa City fire station

After years of talk but little action, the city is now closer to finally opening a fire station in northeast Iowa City.

Ground was broken Wednesday on the site for what will be the city's fourth fire station, this one near the intersection of North Dodge Street and Scott Boulevard.

“This has been a long community discussion,” Fire Chief Andy Rocca said.

Construction should begin in March, with a goal of having the station operational by July 1, 2011, he said.

The need for a fire station on the northeast side, where response times lag, has been identified as a priority by city councils for a decade. The main holdup has been paying for the nine new firefighters needed to staff the station, something previous councils have been unwilling or unable to do.

“That has been one of our biggest challenges, and we're moving ahead on that - and I'm proud to say that,” Mayor Regenia Bailey said.

The council has indicated it will, later this year, vote to impose a 2 percent franchise fee on natural gas and electric bills, with part of that money going to hiring the firefighters.

The station project itself will cost about $4.4 million. The city received more than $2.2 million for the project from the state's I-JOBS job creation and infrastructure improvement initiative. The city will pick up the rest of the tab.

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge was in Iowa City to celebrate the ground breaking and tout I-JOBS as the state struggles through the recession.

“Although it's a really difficult time for the state, it's also a time of opportunity,” she said.